U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday authorising the potential imposition of additional tariffs on countries that sell or provide oil to Cuba, marking a significant escalation in economic pressure on the long-embattled communist-led island nation.
According to the White House, the measure declares a national emergency over what the administration describes as “extraordinary threats to U.S. national security and foreign policy” posed by the Cuban government, citing Havana’s alignment with hostile states and support for transnational groups.
The executive order does not specify which countries might be targeted nor the level of tariffs that could be applied. Instead, it sets out a process under which the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of State, will determine whether a foreign country directly or indirectly supplies oil to Cuba and recommend appropriate tariff actions.
Under the new system, the U.S. government may impose “additional ad valorem duties” — tariff rates added on top of existing duties — on goods imported into the United States from any nation found to be supplying oil to Cuba.
This move comes amid a severe energy crisis in Cuba, which has historically relied on imported oil for electricity, transport, and industry. Venezuela was once the island’s main supplier, but shipments ceased after Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro was captured in early January, and Mexico has been a key remaining supplier. Recent reporting indicates that Mexico has suspended or reduced oil shipments, though its president has said the halt was a sovereign decision unrelated to U.S. pressure.
Cuban officials swiftly condemned the decision. Havana’s foreign minister called the tariff threat a “brutal act of aggression” against Cuba and its people, accusing the U.S. of attempting to isolate the island and undermine its sovereignty.
The Trump administration argues the move is necessary to counter Cuba’s alleged support for hostile foreign actors and to safeguard American interests, although critics and Cuban authorities view the action as coercive economic warfare. The order invokes broad executive powers under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), allowing the president to act in response to perceived national security threats without immediate congressional approval.
The policy intensifies longstanding U.S. measures against Cuba, which has been subject to a U.S. embargo for decades. The new tariff threat extends that pressure beyond Cuba itself to third-party nations involved in supplying vital energy resources.
